3 weeks Ago
FloodingMy husband and I love living in Virginia Beach next to the state park and across the street from the Chesapeake Bay. But along with the good is the fact we need to have flood insurance in the event of a natural disaster. We recently received our annual bill from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which raises two questions.
Do we pay it? The government website says, “FEMA.gov is being updated to comply with President Trump’s executive orders. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
” And, do we even have coverage if we pay?Having these concerns, I contacted both Sen. Mark Warner and U.S.
Rep. Jen Kiggans on April 1. Warner’s office went into action immediately with a caseworker assigned.
I sent requested forms and gave details regarding the issue to allow the caseworker to investigate on our behalf. Within days, Warner’s office emailed they had received the requested material, the caseworker began the investigation and would get back to me as information becomes available.As for Kiggans’ office, the receptionist took down the same information regarding my issue, asked for contact information, and said she would pass it along to the congresswoman.
No return call. No email.Kiggans is forever saying she is working for her constituents, but apparently not for all of us, if any of us.
We are not alone in the 2nd District with this FEMA issue. I guess it’s just hard for her to advocate for us for fear of upsetting President Donald Trump. Either rise to the challenges of your job, or step aside.
Cathy Combs, Virginia BeachElitistsThe Democrats are rapidly losing traction with the nation’s electorate. Recent CNN and NBC polls reveal the party’s popularity and favorability have reached an all-time low of less than 30%. The party’s elitist rulers are complicit in its decline.
They steadfastly believe their 2024 election issues shall remain the eternal guiding light radiating their radical vision of our country’s transformation into a socialist utopia. Moderate Democrats should be alarmed at the elitists’ immutable crusade.The elitists have launched an infantry of supporters hoping to reverse the party’s decline.
Their tactics include undermining President Donald Trump’s agenda by manipulating constitutionally questionable lawfare and unleashing a repertoire of opponent bashing: protests, pejorative labeling, hissy fits and lambasting lectures predictably animated with aggressive finger pointing. Should they fail, the elitists will have placed the party on the cusp of the political purgatory that is single-digit polling.Moderates in the Democratic Party need to defrock the elitists and illuminate a common-sense vision of the country’s future that is electorally palatable — accomplished by a transformation to new leadership fully embracing the pragmatism of Harry Truman and the intrepidity of John F.
Kennedy. Unleashed, the only transformation the elitists will achieve is the party’s grand finale — a commemoration performed from the archipelago of lost causes, opaque to a body politic turned apathetic.Herb Kline, Virginia BeachCostlyI feel as though “Mad King Ludwig” has taken control of the U.
S. economy. There seems to be no rhyme or reason for tariffs that are announced, rescinded, announced again or paused.
No one is sure of what the end game is. Is it to shore up U.S.
manufacturing? Or are these tariffs designed to level the playing field?All we do know for sure is that retirement accounts are being decimated and that a recent Yale Budget Lab prediction shows that an average household’s disposable income could decrease by approximately $4,364.History shows that tariff wars between countries result in no real winners. It’s clear to me that the American people are paying the price for this stupidity.
Elizabeth T. Ray, NorfolkSign up for Viewpoints, an opinion newsletter.
